Georgia County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 159 counties in Georgia, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 68.7. 107counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Georgia Snapshot
159 Counties Scored
68.7 Mean Score
69.5 Median Score
89.2 Richmond County Most Distressed
18.6 Oconee County Least Distressed
23 Crisis 84 Serious 42 Elevated 8 Normal 2 Healthy
Zone Distribution Georgia County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 159 Georgia counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Georgia's 159 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Georgia Counties
159 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Richmond County | 89.2 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 2 | 2 | Bibb County | 88.7 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 3 | 5 | Clayton County | 88.0 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 4 | 6 | Mitchell County | 87.7 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 7 | Dougherty County | 87.3 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 6 | 12 | Hancock County | 85.9 | Crisis | Structural Poverty |
| 7 | 16 | Baldwin County | 85.4 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 8 | 17 | Spalding County | 85.1 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 9 | 18 | Randolph County | 84.9 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 10 | 24 | Rockdale County | 84.4 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 11 | 28 | Ware County | 83.4 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 12 | 30 | Crisp County | 83.1 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 13 | 33 | Newton County | 82.7 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 14 | 37 | Charlton County | 82.5 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 39 | Troup County | 82.3 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 16 | 42 | Muscogee County | 82.1 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 17 | 47 | McDuffie County | 81.5 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 18 | 52 | Brooks County | 81.0 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 54 | Cook County | 80.7 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 20 | 55 | Grady County | 80.4 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 21 | 59 | Polk County | 80.3 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 61 | Sumter County | 80.0 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 23 | 62 | Taylor County | 80.0 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 24 | 71 | Lowndes County | 79.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 25 | 74 | Upson County | 79.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 82 | Liberty County | 79.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 27 | 83 | Washington County | 79.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 28 | 84 | Chatham County | 79.0 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 29 | 88 | Decatur County | 78.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 92 | Lanier County | 78.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 31 | 97 | Henry County | 78.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 32 | 104 | Burke County | 78.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 33 | 106 | Douglas County | 78.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 34 | 107 | Early County | 77.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 35 | 113 | Butts County | 77.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 36 | 120 | Ben Hill County | 77.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 37 | 123 | Telfair County | 77.3 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 38 | 126 | Floyd County | 77.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 39 | 131 | Carroll County | 76.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 40 | 137 | Worth County | 76.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 41 | 154 | Meriwether County | 76.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 42 | 162 | DeKalb County | 75.7 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 43 | 163 | Terrell County | 75.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 44 | 167 | Pulaski County | 75.5 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 45 | 168 | Thomas County | 75.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 46 | 171 | Peach County | 75.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 47 | 195 | Laurens County | 74.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 48 | 205 | Elbert County | 74.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 49 | 207 | Wayne County | 74.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 50 | 208 | Jefferson County | 74.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 51 | 210 | Talbot County | 74.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 52 | 211 | Atkinson County | 74.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 53 | 212 | Bulloch County | 74.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 54 | 217 | McIntosh County | 74.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 55 | 228 | Dodge County | 74.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 56 | 244 | Clarke County | 73.6 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 57 | 247 | Chattooga County | 73.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 58 | 250 | Macon County | 73.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 59 | 251 | Miller County | 73.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 60 | 252 | Stephens County | 73.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 61 | 253 | Walker County | 73.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 62 | 260 | Long County | 73.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 63 | 266 | Wilkinson County | 73.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 64 | 280 | Jenkins County | 72.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 65 | 283 | Evans County | 72.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 66 | 293 | Candler County | 72.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 67 | 317 | Turner County | 72.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 68 | 322 | Calhoun County | 71.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 69 | 323 | Colquitt County | 71.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 70 | 324 | Marion County | 71.9 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 71 | 331 | Bleckley County | 71.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 72 | 347 | Coffee County | 71.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 73 | 353 | Screven County | 70.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 74 | 376 | Taliaferro County | 70.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 75 | 379 | Tift County | 70.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 76 | 391 | Quitman County | 70.0 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 77 | 406 | Toombs County | 69.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 78 | 408 | Clay County | 69.7 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 79 | 410 | Emanuel County | 69.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 80 | 413 | Treutlen County | 69.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 81 | 424 | Baker County | 69.3 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 82 | 426 | Heard County | 69.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 83 | 445 | Irwin County | 68.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 84 | 455 | Houston County | 68.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 85 | 460 | Gwinnett County | 68.5 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 86 | 468 | Walton County | 68.5 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 87 | 469 | Clinch County | 68.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 88 | 478 | Camden County | 68.2 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 89 | 486 | Bacon County | 68.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 90 | 488 | Barrow County | 68.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 91 | 496 | Fulton County | 68.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 92 | 506 | Crawford County | 67.8 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 93 | 515 | Warren County | 67.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 94 | 516 | Twiggs County | 67.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 95 | 519 | Berrien County | 67.6 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 96 | 520 | Wilcox County | 67.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 97 | 526 | Bartow County | 67.4 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 98 | 533 | Murray County | 67.2 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 99 | 535 | Glynn County | 67.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 100 | 541 | Seminole County | 67.1 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 101 | 551 | Brantley County | 67.0 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 102 | 555 | Stewart County | 66.9 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 103 | 562 | Wilkes County | 66.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 104 | 568 | Wheeler County | 66.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 105 | 588 | Echols County | 66.3 | Serious | Economic Vitality |
| 106 | 592 | Tattnall County | 66.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 107 | 626 | Putnam County | 65.3 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 108 | 642 | Haralson County | 65.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 109 | 654 | Dooly County | 64.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 110 | 660 | Pierce County | 64.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 111 | 700 | Franklin County | 64.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 112 | 701 | Whitfield County | 64.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 113 | 712 | Jeff Davis County | 63.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 114 | 724 | Lincoln County | 63.7 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 115 | 741 | Lee County | 63.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 116 | 751 | Paulding County | 63.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 117 | 753 | Lamar County | 63.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 118 | 755 | Jasper County | 63.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 119 | 780 | Montgomery County | 62.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 120 | 782 | Hall County | 62.8 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 121 | 804 | Jones County | 62.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 122 | 810 | Johnson County | 62.4 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 123 | 811 | Hart County | 62.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 124 | 812 | Gordon County | 62.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 125 | 818 | Appling County | 62.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 126 | 826 | Webster County | 62.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 127 | 836 | Madison County | 61.8 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 128 | 876 | Oglethorpe County | 61.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 129 | 886 | Cobb County | 61.0 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 130 | 911 | Glascock County | 60.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 131 | 1,012 | Catoosa County | 59.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 132 | 1,047 | Lumpkin County | 58.4 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 133 | 1,069 | Chattahoochee County | 58.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 134 | 1,093 | Pickens County | 57.8 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 135 | 1,115 | Schley County | 57.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 136 | 1,117 | Pike County | 57.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 137 | 1,206 | Bryan County | 55.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 138 | 1,230 | Habersham County | 55.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 139 | 1,233 | Effingham County | 55.5 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 140 | 1,254 | Coweta County | 55.3 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 141 | 1,260 | Monroe County | 55.2 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 142 | 1,265 | White County | 55.1 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 143 | 1,315 | Banks County | 54.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 144 | 1,353 | Dade County | 53.8 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 145 | 1,423 | Morgan County | 52.6 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 146 | 1,447 | Fayette County | 52.1 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 147 | 1,464 | Dawson County | 51.8 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 148 | 1,490 | Jackson County | 51.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 149 | 1,530 | Fannin County | 50.9 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 150 | 1,636 | Rabun County | 49.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 151 | 1,705 | Greene County | 48.1 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 152 | 1,709 | Towns County | 48.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 153 | 1,713 | Columbia County | 48.0 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 154 | 1,754 | Cherokee County | 47.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 155 | 1,811 | Gilmer County | 46.5 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 156 | 1,964 | Harris County | 43.9 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 157 | 2,186 | Union County | 40.2 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 158 | 2,769 | Forsyth County | 29.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 159 | 3,094 | Oconee County | 18.6 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties